OTOT ----- WSJ article - CLINTON / STARR
September 11, 1998
Starr Lists 11 Grounds for Impeachment,
Says Clinton Pursued Strategy of Deceit
An INTERACTIVE JOURNAL News Roundup
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr told Congress there are 11
grounds for impeaching President Clinton, including perjury and
obstruction of justice, for his effort to conceal his affair with Monica
Lewinsky.
In a dramatic report to Congress released
Friday, Mr. Starr said the president
"pursued a strategy of deceiving the
American people and Congress" for seven
months.
The report, released Friday by a House vote, specifically accused Mr.
Clinton of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, abuse of his
presidential powers and perjury -- both in his grand jury appearance
last month and in his sworn deposition last January in the Paula Jones
lawsuit.
The White House countered even before
the report was released, sending a rebuttal
to Congress that declared Mr. Starr's
document represented prosecutors'
conclusions only and that Mr. Clinton's conduct did not warrant
impeachment. It denied each charge the prosecutors were expected to
lodge against the president.
"The president has pursued a strategy of deceiving the American
people and Congress since January 1998, delaying and impeding the
criminal investigation for seven months and deceiving the American
people and Congress in August 1998," the report said.
At a briefing for reporters later, White House press secretary Mike
McCurry was asked if the president still had no intention of resigning.
"Absolutely," Mr. McCurry said
Mr. McCurry declined to discuss details of Clinton's use of pastoral and
other kinds of support. "He's not under any kind of medical treatment
for anything involving a mental condition," Mr. McCurry said.
The release of Mr. Starr's report marks the start of a dramatic and
likely lengthy impeachment battle in Congress, one Mr. Clinton vowed
to fight vigorously at a morning prayer breakfast Friday.
In its 73-page rebuttal, the White House countered: "We do not believe
the [Office of Independent Counsel] can identify any conduct remotely
approaching" the impeachment standard.
"Instead from press reports, if true, it appears that the OIC has
dangerously overreached to describe in the most dramatic of terms
conduct that not only is not criminal but is actually proper and lawful,"
the White House rebuttal added. It was written by Clinton attorney
David Kendall and White House Counsel Charles Ruff and their
associates.
"Impeachment is a matter of incomparable gravity. Even to discuss it is
to discuss overturning the electoral will of the people," President
Clinton's team wrote.
DNA Sample Matches Clinton
The report discloses for the first time that DNA tests conducted by the
FBI almost indisputably determined that semen found on one of Ms.
Lewinsky's dresses matched a DNA sample provided by Mr. Clinton,
placing astronomical odds that it could have been anyone else.
And it lays out in graphic terms several sexual episodes between Ms.
Lewinsky and the president, alleging from Ms. Lewinsky's account that
they engaged in sexual activity as he talked several times on the
telephone to members of Congress.
Prosecutors said they were providing such graphic detail to prove their
case that Mr. Clinton lied before the grand jury when he insisted he
gave "legally accurate" testimony in January when he claimed he did
not have "sexual relations" with Ms. Lewinsky.
Mr. Clinton's argument was based on the fact that the two never
engaged in intercourse and that the definition he was given did not
include oral sex. Prosecutors declare in the report the definition was
clearly meant to encompass numerous types of sexual contacts -- such
as those he engaged in with Ms. Lewinsky.
Starr Cites Testimony From Dick Morris
Prosecutors also sought to prove that Mr. Clinton intended to lie from
the beginning when the Lewinsky story erupted, citing testimony from
political adviser Dick Morris.
Mr. Morris testified that Clinton summoned him the night the
controversy erupted and asked him to do an instant poll to see if he
could tell the truth about an affair. When Mr. Morris told the president
the polls showed he couldn't tell the truth and survive, Mr. Morris claims
the president told him "well we'll just have to win."
It also argues the president intentionally gave false information to his
aides knowing that it would then be passed on to the grand jury. As
one example, it says Mr. Clinton told deputy chief of staff John Podesta
he specifically did not have oral sex with Ms. Lewinsky.
About an hour earlier, the House voted 363-63 to release the
445-page via the Internet, an act unthinkable just a few years ago. It
passed over the objections of some Democrats who argued it was
unfair that Mr. Clinton didn't get a chance to see it first.
Majority Republicans insisted they followed the letter of the law and
didn't see any reason to give the White House a chance to mount an
advance public assault on the report's conclusions.
"Due process, fundamental fairness, will be observed," said Judiciary
Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R., Ill.) "This whole proceeding will
fall on its face if it's not perceived by the American people to be fair."
'Intent to Embarass'
The Clinton rebuttal was part of a massive counteroffensive, carefully
planned in secret over the last few days by the president's top
trouble-shooters. It was preceded earlier in the day by a dramatic and
emotional statement by the president himself that included his first
public apology to Ms. Lewinsky.
White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the rebuttal, dispatched to
a half-dozen House leaders, was not based on any advance peek at
Mr. Starr's report. "We don't know what's in the report, but we can read
the newspapers," he said.
The White House report was sent to leaders of the House Judiciary
Committee, Speaker Newt Gingrich, Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and
House Oversight Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, Mr. Lockhart said.
The document offered a point-by-point rebuttal of allegations expected
to be contained in Mr. Starr's report.
The White House rebuttal said that Mr. Clinton had acknowledged "a
serious mistake" in his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. "This private
mistake does not amount to an impeachable action," the report said.
It went on to say that Mr. Starr's report was based "entirely on
allegations obtained by the grand jury" and said that grand juries "are
not designed to search for the truth."
Denying all the allegations of criminal misconduct, the report asserted:
"This means that the OIC report is left with nothing but the details of a
private sexual relationship, told in graphic details with the intent to
embarrass."
Despite the flare-up of partisan tension in the House, members of both
parties acknowledged the somber and historic nature of the day's
proceedings.
"This communication from the independent counsel embarks this
institution on a grave and profound process," said Rep. Gerald
Solomon, (R., N.Y.), the Rules Committee chairman. "There is no joy in
bringing forward this resolution -- only a sense of the gravity of our
task ahead and mindful of our constitutional responsibilities."
Mr. Clinton began the day by delivering a solemn apology at a prayer
breakfast, where he acknowledged "I have sinned" and asked for
forgiveness. For the first time, he apologized publicly to Ms. Lewinsky.
He said he would instruct his lawyers "to mount a vigorous defense,
using all available appropriate arguments, but legal language must not
obscure the fact that I have done wrong."
During a two-hour debate Friday, House Democrats repeatedly
criticized majority Republicans for refusing to let Mr. Clinton preview the
report and called into question GOP promises of fairness.
"This is a troubling beginning," said Minority Whip David Bonior (D.,
Mich.) "I hope this beginning does not portend a widening partisan
divide."
'Spinmeisters and Attack Dogs'
But the GOP whip, Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, said such a preview
would give White House "spinmeisters and attack dogs" a chance to
undermine the report.
On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle
(D., S.D.) said the current Congress should deal with the impeachment
question after the November elections.
"The most likely environment for the least political circumstances
involving a matter of this import would be right after the election. I really
think that that period between Nov. 15 and Jan. 15 is going to be the
time when you see the least politicized environment in Washington and
in the country," Mr. Daschle said.
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